HomeLiterary FictionIshmael

Cover of Ishmael

Literary Fiction · 1992 · G

Ishmael

by Daniel Quinn

A gorilla is running a personal ad. He will change how you see everything.

ForAll agesGenreLiterary FictionLength263 pagesRead time~6.5 hours

This analysis was generated by AI from publicly available reader reviews, literary criticism, and book discussions. It has not been verified by a BookLens community reviewer and may contain errors. Be the first to verify →

Content snapshot

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What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

None

No violence

Language

None

No profanity

Sexual Content

None

No sexual content

Substance Use

None

No substance use

Emotional Intensity

Barely any

The philosophical thesis about civilization's self-destruction may be sobering or disturbing to some readers

What this book is about

A gorilla named Ishmael advertises for a student with an earnest desire to save the world, and teaches the narrator through a Socratic dialogue that humanity's 'taker' civilization is on a self-destructive course — and has been since the Agricultural Revolution. Quinn's didactic philosophical novel is a thought-provoking critique of Western civilization's assumptions.

Notes for sensitive readers

Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.

Philosophical argument that human civilization is on a path to self-destruction

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